Lindsay and Igor

January 23rd, 2016

Day 300: Ruta Cuarenta – Day 5

While we enjoyed our visit to the penguin colony yesterday, the only thing that could have made it better was sunshine: it was cloudy yesterday and our pictures (though close-up and in-focus) could have used better light. The sky was mostly clear and blue when we got up in the morning, so we decided to stop by the Penguin Trail one more time when it opened at 9AM before leaving the park.

Sunrise on our campsite in Monte León National Park

Morning on the beach in Monte León

Guess it just wasn’t meant to be: the clouds rolled in just as we walked down the 2KM trail and we ended up with the exact same conditions as the day before. Oh well – at least we got to enjoy the penguins alone this time!

We try to return to the penguin colony while there is a little break in the clouds for some better light, but the clouds roll in just as we reach the end of the trail. We still get great close-ups, tho.

Playing with the baby penguins hiding under the viewing platform – they love to tug on Lindsay’s loose shoelaces, so we “accidentally” let them dangle between the floorboards

The sad side of nature – several decapitated penguin heads litter the area around the colony

As we leave the beach and return inland out of the park, we encounter terrestrial animals, including guanaco

Ñandús (South American emus) roam the grasslands

We refueled in Río Gallegos one last time on our way to the border with Chile, passing by the turn-off for Ruta 40 (we stayed on Ruta 3). We left Argentina through the Paso de Integración Austral – a much busier and more official border station than the Paso Roballos. Funny thing, the immigration process *out* of Argentina was incredibly lax – they didn’t even stamp our passport nor check our vehicle paperwork (hello? We could be stealing someone’s car!). The Chileans, however, were VERY buttoned up, making us go through 4 separate stations (Immigration, Customs, Vehical Registration and Vehical Inspection) before giving us the green light to enter the country. When doing the inspection for foreign fruits and vegetables, the agent checked our glove comparment and randomly selected two pieces of luggage to scan before letting us through.

Once we were back in Chile, we could relax a bit more – our rental company had 24hr roadside assistance available once we were in Chile, so worst case scenario, we could call someone to come help us if we popped another tire. Also, we were on a much more well-travelled road this time, so we would probably be able to flag down help within minutes if we needed to.

Smooth sailing once we cross the boarder back into Chile – even if we bust another tire, we have roadside assistance in this country

As we pass through the ghost town of La Estancia San Gregorio, we pass the rusted remains of the Amadeo – a steamship that ran aground in 1932

“The Steamship Amado belonged to the Ménendez Behety Shipping Company from 1893 to 1932. It had a length of 36M and a width of 6M.”

Since the rental agency was already closed by the time we reached Punta Arenas, we had to find a place to stay for the night. Freedom campsites are really hard to come by so close to a major town, plus it had been 2 days since our last shower, so we decided to find accomodations inside a building tonight. A quick search on Booking.com located a wonderful B&B called La Casa Escondida (The Hidden Home), but our data reception cut out just as we were about to make the reservation. We figured the chances of someone else making a last-minute reservation were pretty small, so we decided to just show up unannouced and hope we weren’t interrupting the family’s dinner.

The poor owner, Luis, and his son Diego were very confused as we drove up to their doorstep (they started to worry that they had somehow lost a reservation!) – we explained that, no, they weren’t crazy, and we asked if they still had a room available for the night. Luckily, the answer was yes (we even got a discount since they didn’t have to pay Booking.com’s comission fee!), and even better – we didn’t miss dinner! Looks like eating late is a thing in Patagonia, as they told us dinner was typically served around 8:30PM. That gave us plenty of time to clean up and even chill our bottle of sparkling wine before a delicious home-cooked meal. Afterwards, we sat down with Luis next to the cozy, wood burning stove and picked his brain about the rest of our itinerary and where else we could explore for our final 2 nights. With a new plan in hand and content, full bellies, we finally crawled into our soft, warm bed around midnight.

We roll up to the Casa Escondida at 7PM without a reservation, giving the owner a bit of an alarm. Luckily, he had a room available so we got to enjoy hot showers, strong Wifi, and a real bed!

We brought a little bit of Argentina back across the border – bubbles from Trivento! A perfect pairing with our Chilean salad and corn tamales

January 22nd, 2017

Day 299: Ruta Cuarenta – Day 4

The next day we finished our journey to the coast and reached the city of Río Gallegos, where we had our first encounter with Argentinean cops. After we stopped in town for gas and more food, we hit a road block on our way back to the highway. “Uh-oh, here we go!” we thought, positive that shit was going to get shady. Quite the contrary: after asking few questions about where we coming from and where we were going, the police handed us a pamphlet about *safe driving* and told us to have a nice day! They had a big stack of the brochures in their hands, so it just looked like Argentina is trying to crack down on the speeding and reckless driving.

After Río Gallegos, we headed north on Ruta 3, which is actually the easiest way to travel North/South in Argentina – unlike Ruta 40, the entire road is paved and there are many more cities and gas stations along the way. We made our way north nice and slow on our spare tire and finally reached our destination in the early afternoon: Monte León National Park.

Monte León is one of the newer parks in Argentina, so still a little off the beaten path, but it is *well worth* the detour! Even though it is teeny tiny (there is only one 20KM gravel road in and out of the park, and literally only one hiking trail), it is home to one of the largest colonies of Magellanic Penguins in Argentina: about 60,000! There was a park ranger parked at the trailhead, but we soon realized the poor guy was nothing more than a glorified parking attendant. There was no ranger on the trail nor at the viewing area, which meant there was no one monitoring the tourists to make sure they maintained the 5M distance rule and didn’t harass the penguins. And while we didn’t see anyone leaving the trail, we all had plenty of opportunity to stick our thumbs up a penguin’s ass since the birds chose to build their nests *literally* on the trail and underneath the sheltered platform. This is THE CLOSEST we have gotten to penguins to date. The only way we could have gotten closer is if we had actually picked them up and held them in our laps (which we totally could have done! NO ONE was there to stop us except our own conscience!).

Our new favorite park in Argentina: Monte León. It only has one hiking trail, but since there is a huge colony Magellanic Penguins at the end, one is really all they need!

The 2KM “Penguin Trail” is flat, easy terrain

We are in puma territory! There are several signs throughout the park warning visitors to be on alert for big cats. We didn’t see any, but we did see many dead penguin carcasses – the poor guys who built their nests at the edge of the colony make easy prey for puma, foxes and scuas.

Magellanic Penguins! These guys look practically identical to the penguins we saw in South Africa

While we try to obey the 5m distance rule, it gets difficult as many of the penguins build their nest RIGHT ON THE TRAIL.

The coastline in Monte León is covered with penguins – thousands nesting the in bushes, and thousands more coming in and out of the water

Chicks! The Magellanic Penguins have a similar breeding cycle to the species we saw on the Antarctic Peninsula – most of the chicks we see are almost done molting and will soon be heading into the water to feed themselves

And we thought we were getting close to the penguins in Antarctica! Two juveniles are “playing house” in a nest next to the walking trail. They must have decided we were getting too close to their territory because they come up to Igor and Lindsay in turn and start pecking at our pants – PENGUIN ATTACK!

The Penguin Trail closes every day at 5PM (to keep people out of the paths when pumas are most active), and we stayed out pretty much until the time limit. There was no way we would make it back to Río Gallegos that night, so we decided to drive deeper into the park and check out their campgrounds. At first we were a little apprehensive as the most secluded site was still right on top of a very raucous group of 3-4 families, playing really loud music and having a BBQ. Luckily for us, they were day trippers, and they rolled out of the campground just as we were getting our dinner ready. As we munched on our canned-bean burritos (with cheese! We’re getting fancy!), we soon realized we had new company: an armadillo and a fox crept into the neighboring site, and spent the next few hours sniffing around for crumbs and leftovers.

The sandy beaches are framed by stunning sandstone cliffs

We continue driving into the park and visit the viewpoint for “Punta Lobo” (Sea Lion Point) – it seems that most people leave the park after seeing the penguins as ours is the only car here

At the end of the road there is a small store/café, a campground and beach access for visitors

The beach at Monte León National Park

We book a campsite at the end of the park, where we get to enjoy an outdoor dinner for once, and with a killer view of the ocean

An armadillo sneaks into the campsite next to us, scavenging leftovers that the day-trippers left behind

Not far behind the armadillo is a small grey fox, who thinks he is being so sly

January 21st, 2017

Day 298: Ruta Cuarenta – Day 3

We had the most wonderful night’s sleep (in a real bed!) and a huge, warm, selection of breakfast pastries, eggs and coffee for breakfast – we checked out of the hotel in El Calafayte feeling like a million bucks. Since the road to and through Glaciers National Park is completely paved, we decided to keep risking it and finish our Argentinean sight-seeing before returning to Punta Arenas to fix the rental car. After all, there was a decent chance there wouldn’t be a Subaru tire available in the city (we checked online – there is only ONE Subaru dealer in Chile and it is in Santiago – the chance that Europcar would have to special order a new tire was pretty high). If that was the case, we might have had to get a replacement car instead, and that car would not have a permit to cross into Argentina (it takes a full week to process the permit). We would hate to get stuck in Chile and miss *everything* in Argentina, so we crossed our fingers and continued down the road…very slowly…

Enjoying a delicious breakfast buffet – WITH HOT COFFEE!

Driving (slowly) toward Glaciers National Park

Glaciers National Park is the largest park in Argentina and home to one of its most famous attractions: The Perito Moreno Glacier. The Perito Moreno Glacier is massive: 30KM long, 5KM wide and 70M tall. Even so, it is not the biggest glacier in the Patagonian Southern Ice Field, but its easy accessibility and the fact that it is one of the *very few* glaciers in the word that is stable and not receding make it a wonder to behold. We limited our activities to the park’s extensive walkway and viewing platforms, which were flip-flop friendly. Perito Moreno was the most active glacier we’ve ever seen: it advances approximately 2M *per day*, which means it is constantly calving (breaking off chunks of ice). As we stood watching the sunlight dance across the face of the ice, we would hear loud cracks and roars as the glacier moved – every 10-15min or so, we would be rewarded with a piece of ice breaking off the face and falling with a splash into the water.

Glaciers National Park – home to the Perito Moreno Glacier

The Perito Moreno Glacier! In some years, the glacier advances so far across the lake that it reaches the other side (like in this picture), creating a dam separating the Lago Argentino from the Brazo Rico

As we admire the glacier, the clouds part and brighten the face of Perito Moreno

We can easily watch the glacier for hours as the sunlight continues to move and shift, creating dramatic new landscapes

Even though there are hundreds of tourists eager for a glimpse of the glacier, it’s easy to avoid the crowds as the viewing platform is connected to a series of walkways, all with a clear view of the ice

Lindsay & Igor at the Perito Moreno Glacier

Even the view from the forested lower trail is stunning – where else in the world can you see blue ice peeking out through the branches?

We can see the milky-blue waters of Lago Argentino fade into the distance from the top of the walkway. We pass the World’s Smallest Glass Elevator (at least, we’re sure that’s what the Chinese parks would call it) as we head back to the parking lot

All the miradors on the way out of the park are now empty, so we stop to admire the mighty glacier one last time

We spot a pair of Carancho Caracaras at one of the miradors. Unlike the Chimangos we encountered in the bird reserve yesterday, these guys are not at all aggressive

After leaving the park, we backtrack through El Calafayte and stop to pick up enough groceries for the next two days of camping in Argentina. We had discussed possible routes with the guys from the tire shop and they informed us that Ruta 40 actually would have *yet another* patch of gravel as we drove south! They recommended that we veer off onto the local Highway 5 to stay on better turf. Since the road on 5 would take us halfway to the coast, we decided we may as well go all the way to the other side and visit the town of Río Gallegos – the official end of Ruta 40. Sure, we weren’t taking Ruta 40 to get there, but it’s the same ending. We found a paid campground just before sunset (such a relief, as we did not like our freedom camping experience in Argentina – we felt much safer knowing we had permission to be where we were, and that people were nearby).

We stop in a grocery store in town to pick up some more supplies for the road: food and WINE (Argentina has both quantity & quality)

We return to Ruta 40 for a short stretch outside town, then veer off to the left on Highway 5 to remain on paved road while taking a shortcut across the country to the coast

Igor picks up a new pair of sunglasses at a roadside stand when we stop for gas (now he can stop borrowing Lindsay’s)

Just when we were about to despair finding a private campsite along the road, we find a paid campground along a river

Golden Hour in our perfect (nearly empty) campground

The owners dog’s is super friendly and keeps us company as Lindsay prepares our dinner

The owner’s horse, however, is not so friendly. Igor names him “Bite-y”

A stunning Patagonian sunset

We bust out the orange parkas, chocolates and our stolen bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte and pretend we are still on the Seabourn Quest

January 20th, 2017

Day 297: Ruta Cuarenta – Day 2

Wow – freedom camping in Argentina is not as fun as Chile. As if our anxiety over safety wasn’t bad enough, the WIND coming down from the mountains was brutal! It howled like crazy all night and even rocked the car back and forth – no doubt, we in Patagonia! We awoke a good hour earlier than normal and decided to get an early start back out of the gravel road – good thing too as our surly friend in the white truck drove down the road and passed us *again* about 15min after we started driving. He gave us another death stare as if to say, “I know you camped illegally on my land, you assholes.” Whatever – he never saw us *parked* anywhere, so he can’t prove anything!

A beautiful sunrise over Lake Viedma

With shoddy bridges and bumpy gravel roads like these, it’s an Argentinean Miracle we only had the one flat tire!

Once we reached the pavement again, we chugged along at a weak 80KMPH all the way to El Calafayte. Even though there was always *plenty* of room to pass us, all the Argentinos would lay on their horns as they swerved around us, seeming to take pleasure in cutting us off within inches when they pulled back into the right lane. Look, we know we are going slow, but there’s no need to be dick about it! Plus, the posted speed limit on Ruta 40 is seriously fucked up. The only reason we know the limit is supposed to be 110KM is because we read about it online. If we went by the *posted* limits, we would be incredibly confused as they have 40KM & 60KM signs everywhere (which NO ONE obeys, BTW) – it’s like there was a discount sale on signs and the Argentine govt. just bought a bunch and decided to randomly place them along the road.

We finally reached El Calafayte around 9:30AM and drove to the nearest gomería (tire repair shop). Most businesses in South America open around 10AM, so we had a short wait, during which time we made friends with the owner’s pet Golden Retriever. Unfortunately for us, when the tire guy arrived, he took one look at our busted tire and said it was unrepairable. The tear was too large for a patch and he said we would be in danger of blowing the tire to bits if we tried to drive on it. He recommended a tire store to buy a replacement.

A doggy begs for treats while we wait for the local gomería to open shop. When he tells us the tire is unfixable, he sends us to a tire store on the other side of town

Any of my friends and family have a Subaru? Ever had to replace a tire? I know for a fact my aunt & uncle in Connecticut did – I was joining them for a visit to Martha’s Vineyard one year when their Subaru got a flat. We spent the rest of the weekend driving around on a spare tire because Subaru (for some INSANE reason) has a *different sized tire* than every other car. (Weird, when they market themselves as an outdoorsy, all-terrain brand with 4WD on all their car & SUV models – you’d think that flat tires would be a common problem for their customers.) Not only did the first tire shop we visit not have the size in stock, they called 2 other stores in town for us and verified that NO ONE had Subaru tires. They recommended we return to Chile and look for a tire shop in Punta Arenas. URGH!!!!

In the meantime, the tire shop did offer to patch our busted tire so that we would have a second “spare” tire in case we got another flat, but they warned us to drive super slowly if we ended up using it and it was for an extremely emergency only.

Yeah, no way a rock busted this tire. While it’s not repairable, the tire shop gives us a patch to use only in an extreme emergency if we pop *another* tire on our way to Punta Arenas

Even though we had our marching orders to return to Punta Arenas, we didn’t see the point in hitting the road immediately – after all, there was no way we would reach Chile before businesses closed for the day – so we decided to keep driving carefully on our spare and finish our sight-seeing around El Calafayte. After all, the roads around here were 100% paved, so if we drove slowly we should be safe from another flat tire (even though we may get beaten to death by frustrated Argentinos).

Our first attraction was the Glaciarium – a museum solely dedicated to glaciers. It was highly recommended to us by our pal Luciano from the Seabourn Expedition Team (he is a Calafayte native and one of the curators of the museums…so a bit biased…), and it was pretty cool (Jaja! Pun intended!). There were lots of plaques and videos explaining the formation of glaciers (old news to us by now, as we had attending many of Luciano’s lectures on the cruise), and reiterating the sad FACTS that REAL SCIENTISTS agree that climate change is happening at an unnaturally fast rate and rapidly destroying glaciers all around the world.

After jamming 2hrs. worth of edu-tainment into our heads, it was time to kill a few brain cells, so we headed downstairs to the Glaciarium’s Ice Bar for some shots of Fernet Branca.

According to our Seabourn friend, Luciano, the glacier museum is the #1 attraction in El Calafate. The “glaciarium” is even designed to look like a glacier

The museum is packed with information – mostly serious climate-based science, although there is a little room for fun and jokes as well!

As we look at the pictures on display, we notice one of a zodiac full of people in orange parkas…kinda looks like a Seabourn excursion in Antarctica! When we look at the photo credit: “L. Bernacchi” – it *is* Luciano from the Expedition Team!

Lindsay feels smart sitting down for a 3D educational film…until she realizes Igor didn’t tell her she had two pairs of glasses on her head

Enough learnin’, it’s time for a drink! Lindsay really wants to visit an “ice bar” – too bad all the drinks were nasty Fernet Branca cocktails, bleh!

We drove back to town after the museum and headed down to the water to visit the Laguna Minez Nature Reserve – a 2KM trail where you can see a variety of sea birds, as well as birds of prey. Initially we thought the trail was kinda lame, especially when we realized we couldn’t get very close to the flamingos, but the action heated up when we started walking through a caracara nesting area – all of a sudden we had dozens of falcons dive-bombing us to protect their nests!

Taking a late afternoon walk through the city’s bird reserve: Laguna Nimez

Lots of sea birds, flamingos and geese, feeding in the waters

A stray dog sneaks into the bird park, on the prowl for some fowl!

The staff warn us that some birds of prey are currently nesting and may be aggressive at one section of the trail – the fact that the stray dog is with us doesn’t help matters! The birds repeatedly dive bomb us as we walk along – Lindsay runs through and cowers in the bushes while Igor stands his ground and tells the birds to, “BRING IT ON!”

The Chimango Caracara – a falcon native to South America

A vicious looking caracara photobombs Lindsay’s picture of Igor!

A Calafayte berry bush (where the falcons love to build their nests) and many wildflowers in the reserve

A Golden Hour view of El Calafate from the Laguna Nimez Reserve, where a Southern Lapwing hides in the tall grasses

A caracara keeps a close watch on us as we leave the park at sunset

Since we were staying in town tonight, we decided to sleep in the comforts of civilization and treat ourselves to both a *hotel* and dinner *in a restaurant*! OMG, y’all, that HOT SHOWER was like a religious experience! And HOT FOOD that Lindsay DIDN’T HAVE TO COOK?!? She felt like a princess.

Talk about luxury! We are staying in an actual hotel tonight – with walls and beds and showers, and a WINE BAR

Hot food and a generous glass of wine – after a week of camping, this feels like absolute heaven!

January 19th, 2017

Day 296: Ruta Cuarenta – Day 1

Today was the day: the day we crossed into ARGENTINA. To tell the truth, we were bit apprehensive – Igor had read many blogs contrasting Chile and Argentina, and Argentina has a less than stellar reputation when it comes to police corruption, tourist scams and infrastructure. But, we didn’t come all this way to stay in or comfort zone – Chile is absolutely lovely, but sometimes it seems a little too much like the United States (too modern, too convenient, too easy) – it’s time for a new ADVENTURE!

The Chilean border agent was very proper and professional (as one would expect) – he sat in a brightly-lit office, behind a counter with a glass window (covered in tour agency stickers from passing travelers). He collected our PDI cards, scanned our passports into the computer and gave us exit stamps before following us outside to unlock the gates to the road beyond.

Rolling up to the Chilean checkpoint at the Paso Roballos border crossing

We expected the Argentinean guard house to be just beyond the Chilean gate, but we were surprised when we had to drive a good 45min through no-man’s land to reach the other side. When we finally parked in front of the Argentinean border station, we noticed quite a difference. First of all, the “office” was a tiny, dark room with a rough wooden table, two stools for us to sit on, and posters of colonial-era revolutionaries tacked to the walls. Second, *everything* was handwritten into a little a little ledger (no computers).

We were relieved when the agent performed only a scant inspection of the back of our car and didn’t find our last few fruits and veggies (yay! We have dinner for tonight!). He did spot our spare gas canister – we were surprised when he told us in Spanish that it’s illegal to carry gas inside your car in Argentina…really? Lindsay replied that we didn’t know, and that all our guide books said to carry spare gas on Ruta 40 in case you run out in between fuel stations. Even so, supposedly it’s not allowed, but he told us to go ahead with the gas anyways – that was really nice of him!

Crossing into Argentina at last!

We had a good 100KM of gravel road to drive until we reached Ruta 40, but the road was just as scenic on the Argentinean side of the Andes, although vastly different in terrain and wildlife. While Chile was all about lush forests, sparkling blue lakes & fiords, and expansive grasslands, Argentina felt more like a rough and wild desert, except FULL of animals! Horses, birds, bunnies, foxes and more!

The landscape is very different on this side of the Andes – much more “wild west cowboy” than the dense green forests and fiords of Chile

A variety of birds – geese and flamingos – populate the marshy ponds

Dozens of huge jackrabbits dart across the road – one stops just long enough to pose for a picture

ZORRO! We spot a trio of gray foxes as we drive through the Argentinean side of the pass, which apparently was recently turned into a national park

ARMADILLO! Lindsay spots this slow little guy waddling through the brush on the other side of the street while we are pulled over for lunch. He is SO SLOW she is easily able to chase him down for a super-duper close-up when he hides under a bush. SO CUTE!

Slowly making our way out of the Paso Roballos on the Argentinean side

Stopping for fuel at the first gas pump we see after we reach the *paved road* of Ruta 40

We were *so excited* to finally reach the paved road of Ruta 40 – we’ve been driving on gravel road almost constantly since Day 2 of the Carretera Austral, and we been very cautious to make sure we didn’t get a flat tire. According to Lonely Planet, Ruta 40 is, like, 90% paved…oh, except for a 115KM stretch between Gobernador Gregores and Tres Lagos. Igor was at the wheel, since our Argentinean permit only allowed one driver, and even though he was going a respectable 60KMPH we started to hear an all-too-familiar thwump, thwump, thwump, out our window. We pulled over, and sure enough, he discovered we had a flat tire.

DAMN IT.

Well, Igor was a friggin’ pro at swapping out the spare tire at this point, I can tell you that. He had the jack up, old tire off and emergency spare screwed on in under 5min. We looked at the flat tire and discovered a dime-sized *tear* in the middle of the tread, making us suspect that Igor might have run over a piece of metal at some point (we did cross a lot of cow guards). We continued at a snail’s pace for the rest of the afternoon, terrified that we might puncture another tire and get stranded in the middle of nowhere.

OMG! After a week of driving of gravel roads we finally get our first flat tire on the ONE section of unpaved road. UGH!

After an hour of going 40 on 40, we finally return to pavement and increase our speed to 80KMPH (30KM below the speed limit), earning us a lot of angry honks and scathing looks from speeding Argentinos

When we reached the small town of Tres Lagos, we asked the gas station attendant where the nearest repair shop was, and were disappointed to hear that our best bet was to continue all the way down to El Calafate – the southern gateway to Glacier National Park. We had originally planned to visit El Chalten on the northern end of the park first to see Mt. Fitzroy, but the gas station guy said the town was too small. Boo. We might double back after fixing the tire, but more likely than not we would have to skip it.

In the meantime, there was no way we would make it all the way to either El Calafate or El Chalten that night, so we started to lookout for potential flattybouch camping spots on the road. Since Ruta 40 has a lot more traffic than the Carretera Austral (and, once again, cops are rumored to be a little more dodgy), we *really* didn’t feel comfortable parking out in the open off the main road. We decided to brave another gravel road and pull off onto a tiny provincial route that looked like it ran along a nearby lake – hopefully there would be beach access!

According to Google Maps, the only destinations on this gravel road were a few estancias (ranches). Many of them do have lodging, but from our research, the prices are astronomical (like, over USD$400 per night) – waaaaay out of the price range for our road trip, and certainly not the kind of last minute expense we wanted to pay on top of getting the tire replaced. On the bright side, we figured no one would have any reason to drive down this road in the middle of the night, so once we were out of sight of the highway, we could probably park anywhere off the road and not need to worry about privacy. Well, we were mostly right. A farm truck passed us twice as we crawled along toward the lake – once as he was dropping someone off at the highway, and again on his return to his estancia. Each time he passed us, he gave us a scowl as if to say, “What the fuck are you doing on my driveway?” Hopefully he would dismiss us as stupid lost tourists and wouldn’t return in the middle of the night to murder us.

We pull off of Ruta 40 around sunset and take a 15KM detour to park in our *only* freedom camping spot in Argentina, along the banks of the Lake Viedma.

10PM sunset in Argentinean Patagonia

January 18th, 2017

Day 295: La Carretera Austral – Day 6

According to our Google driving directions, it would take us a good 9hrs to reach the Argentinean border, which was just fine with us! We still had a day’s worth of fresh fruit and vegetables with us and there was a good chance they would be confiscated at the border, so we decided to take it slow today and camp out one last night in Chile. That way, if the rest of our food did get taken, it would be early enough in the day that we could find an open grocery store in Argentina to buy dinner.

We took our time driving north, stopping for random photos on the side of the road and a 3hr. lakeside pit stop where we had a chance for another eco-shower and “au-natural” laundromat. (Hey! We may be flattybouches, but we refuse to be stinky hippies!)

Making our way north in the morning, when Igor decides he MUST take a picture of the cows on the side of the road

A picture of cows. I guess we should frame this, or something.

Lake Esmerelda: tranquil and crystal-clear waters – perfect place to stop and freshen up!

The lake water is warm enough that Lindsay and Igor are able to fully submerge for their “baths” – we even washed our hair!

After we wash our clothes, we take a break for an hour or so while they dry in the sun

As we folded our clean clothes and started to pack up, Igor made a terrible discovery: his favorite Bolivian hat was missing! We searched all over the beach and emptied the car, but it was nowhere to be seen. We tried to remember when he had worn it last – he definitely had it on this morning – could he have dropped it on the side of the road when he was taking pictures? We turned on the camera and reviewed the photos from that morning to see if we could find a clue. Sure enough! When we zoomed in on the shot from the cow photo-shoot, *there* was his hat, lying in the road! Luckily, it was only 20min away, so we backtracked and found his hat. Sure, it had been run over by a few cars and had a little cow poop on it, but other than that it was safe and sound: IT’S A CHILEAN MIRACLE! We stopped at the lake one more time on our way north so Igor could give the hat a good washing before we continued on our way.

We review our pictures from that morning and confirm that Igor’s beloved hat fell out of the car while he was snapping shots of the stupid cows. We drive back and find the spot – luckily no farmers/bikers had picked of the hat in the meantime!

We reached the turn off for Paso Roballos in the early afternoon and soon realized that Google Map’s estimated driving time was WAY off – we were too early! Instead of taking us the expected 9hrs, we would easily finish the drive in under 5hrs. We were actually disappointed to be so far ahead of schedule, as Lindsay really didn’t want to enter Argentina and lose all our food (seriously, we had a perfectly ripe avocado – it would be such a shame to let the border agent have it!), so we decided to call it a day at 3PM and just enjoy some R&R on the scenic road.

BTW, we had that avocado for dinner and it was SO GOOD. Totally worth it.

Leaving the Carretera Austral for the narrow, barely used Paso Roballos route toward Argentina

The landscape changes dramatically into wide open grassy plains, where we finally see guanacos!

We pass a fancy hotel on the side of the road, where a huge herd of guanacos is calming munching on the lawn

The Paso Roballos route is stunning – a scenic, twisting road that stretches out into the horizon

Even though it’s early, we decide to call it an early night and camp in Chile one last night. Even though there are no trees for privacy, the road is so empty we don’t even worry about parking out in the open. Instead, we find a shoulder just big enough for our car and enjoy the expansive vista

We spend the rest of the afternoon catching up on computer work, then break for some card games & magic tricks. Lindsay even teaches Igor how to properly shuffle a deck of cards

A gorgeous view for our final night in Chile

January 17th, 2017

Day 294: La Carretera Austral – Day 5

When we woke up, we saw a beautiful rainbow stretching across the horizon – seems like a good sign! We optimistically took our camera out of the rice bag and turned it on…IT LIVES!!! We gave each other a celebratory high-five as we packed up and continued our scenic road trip, jubilant that we had a working camera to document the experience.

A rainbow appears over our campsite as if in celebration over our salvaged camera. With a HUGE sigh of relief, we continue our way down the Carretera Austral

We arrived at the end of the road at Puerto Yungay just in time for the first ferry of the day at 10AM. It’s a bit chilly outside, so Igor stayed in the warm car while Lindsay ran out to ask the Chilean Army guys standing nearby how much and where to buy tickets for the ferry. Their answer? IT’S FREE. How many times can I say that I love Chile?

We reach the final ferry of the road at 9:45AM, just in time for their first crossing of the day. Loving the price tag (“Gratis” means “Free”)

The Río Bravo ferry operators must be Tetris masters – Igor backs into the boat as they yell instructions to him in Spanish

Puerto Yungay fades into the distance during our 45min crossing to Río Bravo, where we only have another 100KM of gravel road to go until the end of the trail

This last section of the road to Villa O’Higgins was basically a dead end street – even though the country of Chile continues further south, the ONLY way to reach the cities of Puerto Natales (gateway to Torres del Paine National Park) and Punta Arenas (the southernmost city on *the continent*) is by crossing into Argentina. Igor noticed some mention of a crossing near Villa O’Higgins called Río Mayer during his research online, but we couldn’t find it on our Google Maps – we made a mental note to ask someone in town about it after we finished the drive. After all, if we could make the crossing today instead of backtracking to where we were yesterday, that would be much more convenient!

There’s not a lot of traffic in this area (it’s basically a dead end road), so the livestock often wander into the road without much care

Water, water, everywhere! We drive past tons of roadside waterfalls and fiord-facing lookouts

Snow-capped mountains and derelict old fishing boats along our final stretch of Ruta 7

We’ve reached the end. Sad – it’s a bit anticlimactic. There’s not much here except a small boat dock with a handful of navy boats and a small passenger ferry

We top off our fuel at the LAST gas station on the road, in the cute and über remote village of Villa O’Higgins

While there was a tourist information booth in the town square in Villa O’Higgins, it was still empty, even 20min after the posted “lunch break.” We found a large hotel with an excursion desk out front and figured they wouldn’t mind answering some questions for us, even if we weren’t guests. We met a really nice American working behind the counter who told us about their boat rides to the nearby Great Glacier (very weather dependent and takes a full 8AM-8PM day to visit – guess we won’t be tacking that on to our activities for today), and the two options for crossing into Argentina from Villa O’Higgins. First, yes – the Paso Río Mayer exists, but the reason it doesn’t show up on Google is because it is a *footpath* only! Second, there is a ferry…but again, for pedestrians only – no cars. Turns out, there are A LOT of tourists who either bicycle or *hitchhike* the Carretera Austral.

(We have seen many of them on the road, and we just shake our heads in confusion. The bikers look miserable: there is way too much car traffic kicking up dust to make it enjoyable. Plus, they are alternately sweating bullets trying to climb steep hills in the sun or drenched in the passing rainstorms. And the hitchhikers? OK, didn’t their parents tell them how fucking dangerous it is to get into a car with someone you don’t know?!? Also, how is it fun to spend half your day standing on the side of the road outside of the nearest town, waiting for hours for someone nice enough trusting enough to pick you up? Finally, can anyone explain to me the incentive for a driver to pick up a hitchhiker? Are they expected to help pay for gas? Or do they just get a free ride?)

Oh well, looks like we were going back to plan A: backtracking to the Paso Roballos. We drove back to the Río Bravo-Puerto Yungay ferry for the final crossing of the day at 7PM. Funny enough, the *one* time we knew the schedule ahead of time was when we arrived 2hrs early AND the boat was running 45min late. We had a loooooong wait in the car.

More gorgeous scenery during our return drive to the ferry

There is one final land crossing into Argentina (X-905) off the Carretera Austral near Villa O’Higgins, however the Paso Río Mayer is not open to cars – only pedestrians, bikers or horseback riders

The last return ferry of the day at 7PM is practically empty (only 4 cars and 4 bicyclists)

Crossing the Mitchell Fiord via ferry boat

It’s the Golden Hour as we cross the fiord – Igor keeps getting out of the car as the light just gets better and better for photographs

When we finally reached the main road, it was already 8:30PM. Unfortunately, there were not many shoulders off this section of the Carretera Austral, and the few miradors we did find were not very private, nor super scenic. We decided to stop for a quick beans & canned veggie dinner before driving along another hour to find a comfortable spot. We got delayed during our search when we were flagged down by 3 farm kids who had a flat tire. (We were a bit sketched out when they started waving us down at 10PM, but we didn’t want bad karma – all the guide books plead with travelers not to be a dick and leave someone stranded in this remote part of the country. The crime rate is almost non-existent down here, and – who knows? – it could easily be us with a flat tire tomorrow.) Unfortunately, we were no help as they didn’t have a spare tire to replace their flat and we didn’t have an inflator in our emergency kit. Luckily, they weren’t in the middle of *nowhere* – they had pulled over in front of a farmhouse and we could see the owner walking around so we knew they could probably ask him for help as well. (Although, the guy was walking around with a running chainsaw, which also contributed to our initial unease…)

We finally found a *very well hidden* parking spot next to a river underneath a bridge. Fully confident that no cars could see us from the road, we finally rolled out our sleeping bags and went to bed.

We are starving by the time we get off the ferry, so we pull over and make dinner at a mirador while we still have a little light. We then drive for another hour before we finally discover an access road leading to a riverbank – it’s well-hidden from the road by a bridge and a thick row of trees so we feel safe crashing for the night

January 16th, 2017

Day 293: La Carretera Austral – Day 4

We left our riverside oasis around 8AM that morning and drove toward Lake General Carrera. At 870KM² it is the biggest lake in Chile and the second biggest lake in South America. It straddles the border between Chile and Argentina (where it is called “Lake Buenos Aires” instead). We arrived in the lakefront town of Río Tranquillo in the late afternoon and refueled at the local COPEC. We were ahead of schedule and a little tired of just sitting in the car all day, so we decided to take a walk around town and investigate the long line of excursion desks sitting by the beach – if there are *this many* tour operators, there must be something interesting to do around here!

Sunrise in our beautiful riverside campsite

General Carrera Lake (AKA – Lake Buenos Aires on the Argentinean side)

Turns out that one of Río Tranquillo’s biggest attractions is the Capillas de Mármol (Marble Chapels) – a collection of colorful caves and formations in the lake, formed by the weathering of the water and wind against the side of the rock. We booked a 1.5hr boat ride for USD$15pp to see them – seemed a little hokey, but a good way to kill a little time and get out of the car. For some STUPID reason, it didn’t occur to us that we would be in danger of getting wet (even though the tour operator gave us each a pair of “windproof” suits) so we left our waterproof pants and bags in the car. That would prove to be a HORRIBLE mistake.

However, the initial ride out to the Capillas de Mármol was pleasant and dry as we were travelling with the current. After about 20min, we finally reached the caves – they were actually pretty cool! The original rocks were a composite of limestone and marble, but the elements had broken down most of the limestone over the centuries, leaving beautiful formations of marble and calcium carbonate behind, making for some awesome photo-ops!

We reach the town of Río Tranquillo so early in the morning, that we decide to check out the row of excursion agencies lining the lakefront

All dressed up in our wind-proof pants & jacket for the boat ride on Lake General Carrera

Igor is impressed when the boat actually drives *into* the marble caves

The surface of the caves has a gorgeous, bubbly texture

The swirls of color inside the Capillas de Mármol are simply stunning

So far, our visit to the Capillas de Mármol has been a pleasant surprise!

We were on an excited high as the boat turned around to go back to Río Tranquillo – this time, against the wind. Our tour guide (who did not speak English) said something to the effect of, “The return ride can be rough – hold on to the side of the boat if it gets too choppy. Also, you might get splashed,” or at least, that’s how Lindsay translated it to Igor. We giggled with delight at the first few bounces, and even tried to record the huge swells on the GoPro, but then shit got real. Anyone ever go to SeaWorld theme parks when they were a kid and remember the “Splash Zone” during the whale shows? Well, it was like that. Over, and over, and OVER again. We were completely drenched and freaking out about our camera which Igor tried to protect by hiding it inside both his down jacket and the tour’s windbreaker.

When we finally arrived on shore after a good 45min of constant bouncing and splashing, we crawled out of the boat like pitiful sewer rats. We dropped off our borrowed gear at the company’s yert and looked ourselves over: everything we were wearing (hats, jackets, pants, underwear, socks) was soaked. We got into the back seat of the Subaru and changed into a dry set of clothes. Even though the camera had a few drops on it, it turned on OK when we tested it so we breathed a sigh of relief that at least one item had remained safe.

We are all smiles until the boat starts heading back toward Rio Tranquillo – the rough waves completely drench us (and our camera!!!)

We change into a dry set of clothes and lay everything wet on the dash to dry as we drive away

Since we had a lot more time to stretch out our itinerary, we had been discussing which route to take. Our initial plan had been to veer off into Argentina the next day, crossing the Andes at the Paso Roballos crossing, however that would mean missing the final 250KM of the Carretera Austral. Since we had tons of time, we decided to change our plans and drive all the way to the end. But before we could do that, we needed to get in touch with Igor’s mother, as she had been tracking our progress via the GPS Spot daily (sometimes it seemed she was tracking us hourly – she had an eerily up-to-the-second knowledge of where we were at all times…). If we suddenly started driving in an unexpected direction, we would get panicked emails asked if we had been kidnapped. J We were feeling cold and hungry and decided to get a hot meal at a restaurant in town that had Wifi, so we could send an email with our new route info.

So, January and February are the HIGH SEASON in Chile (it’s their “July & August” – height of the summer). Today was a MONDAY (not a weekend and not a holiday). Despite this, only TWO restaurants in town were open for lunch at 1PM – everything else (including the minimart) was closed. REALLY GUYS? Whatever, fine – we check out both places. Even though both of them had a “Wifi” symbol on their windows and had a strong signal coming from their location (which we could see on Igor’s phone), both turned us down when we asked for the code as we tried to order lunch. You know what? We’ve had it with this town. We would rather eat our cold apples and chips on the road then patron either of you overcrowded cafes.

Getting the hell outta Río Tranquillo. However, our anger at Río Tranquillo starts to lift as we drive round the edge of the lake. No doubt, Lake General Carrera is incredibly beautiful (especially from afar!)

Look at that water! It’s so blue, we have to remind ourselves we are not in the tropics, and those dark patches are shadows of clouds, not coral reefs

Teal blue water from the glacial run-off in Lake General Carrera

Lake General Carrera – seriously, we just can’t get enough of it!

Finally crossing the bridge and leaving the lake as it narrows into a river

About an hour down the road we made a detour to a charming little village on the other side of the lake called Puerto Guadal, hoping to find an open café with Wifi. We didn’t see anything, so we pulled into the town grocery store and asked the kid behind the counter, “Is there anywhere in town that has Wifi?” He looked at us like we were stupid and slowly said, “Sí.” Lindsay tried to clarify, “Is there anywhere were *we* can use the Wifi?” Again, “Sí.” The kid smiled and told us to give him our phone – he signed us into his store’s Wifi, free of charge! Now there’s the Chile we know and love! While Igor typed a note to his mommy, Lindsay ran around the store picking up enough groceries for the next three days – now that we weren’t crossing the border, we didn’t have to worry about our fresh fruit and veggies getting confiscated.

Stopping for more groceries in Puerto Guadal

Why did the chicken cross the road? To get back to her chicks!

Everything seemed to be going our way at last! We continued down the road for a few more hours. Near sunset, the landscape started to get really dramatic, so we pulled over and took out the camera to take a picture…only the camera wouldn’t turn on. We’ve been using this camera pretty heavily during the last year and this isn’t the first time it went on the fritz – usually taking the battery out and putting it back in again does the trick. Lindsay opened the camera to bounce it, but made a terrible discovery: Water. Inside the camera. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK. Somehow, some water must have slowly seeped in since our boat ride that morning! Even worse, we’ve already turned it on and taken pictures several times that afternoon, so the hardware has probably fried!

We pulled into the next town of Cochrane and bought a bag of rice, desperately hoping a night in the rice bag would suck out any remaining water. With our fingers crossed and hoping for the best, we continued our way south, pulling over when we found another secluded campsite off the side of the road.

More dramatic scenery as we continue our journey south – too bad we have to take these pics on the cell phone L

We find another secluded campsite off the road and enjoy a healthy dinner of tomatoes & beans with an avocado sandwich

January 15th, 2017

Day 292: La Carretera Austral – Day 3

After a peaceful night’s sleep parked in our fiord-facing mirador, we woke up to a lovely surprise: since the fiord was connected to the ocean, there were sea lions and dolphins swimming right in front of our campsite! They were a little too far away for us to get a good picture, but we enjoyed watching them play around as we ate our breakfast.

We took off around 8:30AM and made our way to Coyhaique by noon. Coyhaique was a HUGE city, with a university, Costco-sized grocery stores and a strong 3G data signal. Unfortunately, there was also a lot of traffic and not many parking spots, so after we picked up a few essentials we got back on the road and ate lunch on a quiet shoulder outside of town. We continued our drive south for a few more hours before calling it an early day at 4:30PM.

Driving around the fiord in the early morning light

“From this place you can see the River Cisnes coursing through the valley, it is 160KM from its source at the mouth of the Puyuhuapi Canal to the south of Port Cisnes. With a basin of 5,196km² of surface area, this part of the river increases considerably, creating sections of backwater and fast moving rapids. The surrounding vegetation is mainly made up of species of evergreen forest.”

Lindsay runs out into the wildflowers to take a picture of some wind turbines – harvest that natural energy, Chile!

Another glorious day in Patagonia

Pulling over to the side of the road for lunch

“Native Huemul: The Huemul Deer is native and exclusive to the Southern Andes, and is in danger of extinction. It is distributed from central Chile to the Magallanes region, today the largest populations are found in this region and in Aysén. In Aysén and the Castle Peak National Reserve you have the possibility to observe this beautiful specie in the Southern route in its natural habitat, which is a privilege and pride of this region and we invite you to support the conservation by taking care and driving slowly through this habitat.”

Looking for the elusive Huemul Deer as we drive through their supposed habitat – we saw nuthin’

Summertime in Patagonia – the land is covered in wildflowers

“The Devil’s Slope Viewpoint: From here you can see a majestic panoramic view of the imposing Castle Peak which is 2,75m in height and covered in snow and dense forest. Below, you can see the winding curves of the Ibanez River, which is over 88KM in length, flowing into the General Carrera Lake. Reflecting nature, the winding and steep curvy pass of the Devil’s Slope arises, opened by the first settlers who travelled in this virgin and inhospitable Southern route.”

The twisty road of the Devil’s Slope

The jagged profile of Castle Peak

Cruising down the Carretera Austral

“Dead Forest” – Igor has to stop and takes pictures of the dead trees

Normally we like to keep driving until dinnertime, but Lindsay slammed on the brakes when Igor found the PERFECT campsite in the late afternoon. It was big (you could easily fit 5 cars), private (hidden behind a row of thick trees and bushes), and had water access (a very clean river). It was still warm and sunny when we pulled over, so we decided to take care of business. It had now been 3 days since our last shower and our bodies and clothes were starting to smell pretty ripe (TMI?). While the sunshine helped us to strip down, the water was way too cold for us to get in all the way. I’ll let you imagine how we managed to get clean. Suffice to say, we felt very refreshed by the end of the ordeal.

Our favorite campsite of the trip! A secluded spot next to the river, hidden from the road behind some dense trees

We call it a day really early, giving us plenty of time to wash our clothes and even take a “Polish shower” in the frigid stream. Hey! It may be primitive, but it keeps us from being stinky!

Taking pictures of our little oasis, and chilling a bottle of bubbly in the river

When it starts to rain at night, we hang our damp laundry over our heads as we tuck into bed

January 14th, 2017

Day 291: La Carretera Austral – Day 2

FLATTYBOUCH, n. A gypsy term: one who goes from place to place living in a van during the summer months. Also called a flatty.

We learned a cool word during a rousing game of “Liars Club” when we were on the Seabourn Quest, which perfectly illustrated our descent from ultra-luxury cruisers to homeless bums. I know y’all are feeling sorry for us sleeping out of an SUV, but I gotta tell you, it’s a lot more comfortable than it sounds! We slept in ’til about 7:30AM when the sun was fully out and it was too bright to keep our eyes closed. We took our time having breakfast and reorganizing our supplies. However, when 9:30AM rolled around and there still wasn’t any sign of a park ranger to collect camping fees, we figured Chile was just giving us one for free. LOVE this country!

Breakfast time at the Cascadas Escondidas Campground

Lots of bikers were packing up to leave as we explored the campground. There are two short hikes to some waterfalls, but we have to pass as Igor is a gimp

We pass two more pretty campgrounds on our way to the next town – good to know this highway is so camper-friendly!

The waters of Lake Blanco were a perfect mirror in the morning

We pass by the trailhead for an all-day hike near Michinmahuida Volcano. Since it doesn’t look doable in flips flops, we’ll have to save it for next time

So, our original plan for this road trip was to stop in 4 different parks and do day hikes over the next two weeks. Unfortunately, when Igor had to wear his hard boots during our travel day from Buenos Aires to Puerto Montt, it ruined all the healing progress his foot had made during our month on the cruise ship. Since we had a diving trip coming up in a few weeks, it was essential that he recover, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to wear fins and wouldn’t be allowed to dive in strong currents.

As a result, all hikes were out of the question for the next two weeks – this trip is now literally all about the ROAD throughout Patagonia. On the bright side, it meant that we had a lot more flexibility in our schedule and more time to finish longer stretches of the route. Today we passed through Chaitén – a coastal town that was completely destroyed when the nearby volcano of the same name erupted in 2008. Although the Chilean government insisted that all residents permanently evacuate, 25 people came back a year later and started rebuilding. Now the town is well on the way to recovery, with a gas station, hospital, grocery store, and plenty of cute hostels and restaurants.

After visiting town for a few hours, we continued down the road at a leisurely pace, stopping to take pictures whenever we liked. Even though there was a lot of construction going on, there was more than enough eye-candy to fill up our camera memory card.

Igor is enchanted by the spooky, dead trees leftover from the Chaitén eruption back in 2008

We roll into the town of Chaitén just before lunchtime and pick up a few extra groceries in the shadow of the ominous volcano

We are ahead of schedule, so we treat ourselves to a sit-down lunch in a yert. Feelin’ pretty hippie!

We get a far-off glimpse of the Amarillo Glacier as we pass by Pumalín Park

Driving around the Amarillo section of Pumalín Park

Stopping to admire more glacier-capped mountains during our drive

Driving over the Yelcho Bridge

Lago Yelcho sparkles in the Patagonian sunshine

Beautiful scenery during our Carretera Austral road trip

Pastoral cow pastures and baby-blue glacier-fed rivers in Patagonia

Seriously…well this gorgeous scenery ever end?

We’re driving an average of 10 hours per day, so we get a little goofy after a while

We started looking for camping spots around 7PM. The first campground we pulled into was already full. The second paid campground we found was just outside of the Queulat National Park, but we passed as the facilities look like an absolute dump. (The owner left a broken toilet and a broken down bus in the middle of the campsites. We’re not paying USD$10 when we can just pull off the side of the road for free!) Apparently there were better options inside the park, but the entrance was locked after 6PM so we had to continue driving for another hour or so.

As we drove around a scenic fiord, we noticed several empty miradors (viewpoints). Sure, there was zero privacy, but the views were excellent. We decided to give it a try – hopefully police wouldn’t patrol the highway at night (we haven’t seen any cops or park rangers outside town limits so far) and knock on our windows while we were sleeping. A handful of trucks and cars passed us while we made ourselves some dinner (a few tooted their horn to say, “Hello”), but all traffic died around 9:30PM, giving us peace and quiet as we went to sleep.